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Brent Hall
Here is Ted's story just sent to me by my sister:
Although it has been a long time since I became aware of Ted Bundy, I do recall certain events which have stayed with me.
The year was 1974. I was an elementary school teacher who had temporarily left my teaching career to return to the University of Utah to earn a Master of Education Degree. I began attending church in a "student branch" (a congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, comprised of unmarried college students.) It was there that I met four young men who shared an apartment not far from my home: Wynn Bartholomew, John Homer, Larry Anderson, and Barry Kraus. Wynn was attending Law School at the University of Utah. The apartment where these four men lived was quite large, and became the "social center" or "gathering place" for many of the members of our branch; we went there often for parties.
John Homer and Larry Anderson were "stake missionaries" at the time. One day Wynn told John and Larry about a student at the Law School who was possibly a potential convert and who might be interested in having religious discussions with them; his name was Ted Bundy. John and Larry began giving religious lessons to Ted at their apartment. They invited Ted to come to church and meet the rest of our congregation; Ted was always invited to the apartment for social gatherings as well.
Eventually Ted committed to be baptized. Many members of the student branch attended the baptism to show their support. Our Branch President, Michael Preece, interviewed Ted prior to baptism. We later wondered why President Preece didn't feel inspired to suspect that something was wrong during the interview, but we have come to realize that anyone can hide the truth during an interview, even a spiritual one! John Homer performed the baptism and his missionary companion, Larry Anderson, pronounced the confirmation. Little did anyone know what dark secrets Ted was hiding!
The ratio of women to men in our student branch was about 4 to 1, so new men coming to our branch were always of interest, and Ted was no exception. He was polite, courteous, intelligent and attractive. Many of the young women wanted to date Ted; he became quite popular in our group. Ted attended some of our social gatherings, and afterwards Wynn remembered that to him, Ted seemed quiet and mysterious; at social gatherings he would sit in the background and just watch people silently.
In February (approximately) of 1975, John Homer and Larry Anderson asked Wynn about Ted; they said that he had missed an appointment with them to
have another religious discussion, and they wondered if Wynn had seen Ted at the Law School. During Winter Quarter it was very unusual for a student to go out of town, due to winter weather conditions. Wynn remembers that it was odd that Ted was absent from school at that time. When Ted did return to the Law School, Wynn remembers noticing that Ted looked rather weather-worn and had four evenly-spaced scratch marks on the side of his face, and asked him about it. Ted blew it off by saying that he had been scratched by a tree branch. (Ted's absence was due to his trip to ski lodges in Colorado where he murdered multiple women.)
In March of 1975 I organized a birthday party for one of our branch members, Sam Green; the party was held at Wynn's apartment. I was busily washing dishes when Ted walked over and stood beside me. "You look like you could use some help," he offered. I was flattered that he would notice me, and hoped that perhaps he would ask me out on a date. My camera was sitting nearby, and I handed it to Wynn and asked, "Wynn, take my picture with Ted!" Ted pointed a rinsing gun at me as we posed together. It was one of the few pictures of Ted taken outside a courtroom or jail. And it is my personal belief that that photo saved my life. If any harm had come to me after that night, there would have been photo evidence connecting Ted with me. (That same photo appeared years later on the front page of the Deseret News on the day of Ted's execution in Florida.)
Later, John Homer arranged to line up a girl in our student branch, Lynne Cutler, with Ted for a date. The date was cancelled due to Ted's being arrested for the kidnapping of Carol DaRonch at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley. Lynne will forever be grateful for that cancellation!!
Wynn and I began dating in March of 1975 and were married in September of that same year. Wynn had a 3-year obligation with the Army, and we were stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. During that time we heard nothing about Ted's arrest and trials in Utah and Colorado. Then one day John Homer sent us a letter with a curious message: "I guess you've heard about Ted." We were shocked and surprised. We later returned to Utah where we heard more details about Ted. Being the trusting, naive person that I am, I remarked to Wynn, "I'm sure it's a mistake! Someone has set Ted up! I'm going to the prison to visit Ted and take him some homemade banana nut bread!" Of course, Wynn wouldn't let me go, and I couldn't have visited him anyway, his being in maximum security. Later we began to hear all the grisly details of his crimes. It was so hard for us to realize that a murderous criminal had duped us all....even our well-meaning missionaries.
I now have six adult sons, two of whom live near Seattle. One time recently when I visited them they took me and their families to Lake Samamish, the scene of where several of Ted's victims disappeared and whose remains were later found on a nearby mountain. My sons told me that even today, some people will not go near the lake because they think that it is haunted.
About 10 years ago a couple moved into our neighborhood who are the parents of one of Ted's victims---I think their name is Wilcox. They lived in the MIllcreek area of Salt Lake City, and they moved to get away from the memories of the home from which their daughter disappeared. They held a memorial service for their daughter in the church I attend, even though their daughter's remains were never found.
I continuously hear and read stories about the families of Ted's victims here in Utah, how they have suffered, and how their families have been broken under the strain of their tragedies. Ted' dark legacy, it seems, lives on and on. But hopefully when enough time has passed, the pain the families have experienced will fade.
I'm so very grateful that I was not one of Ted's victims, even though I very easily could have been; I don't know why I was not. I have had the privilege of being married, and have found joy in six sons, five daughters-in-law, and many grandchildren. I still ache for the families who have fallen prey to him. Who knows why Ted did what he did? There are many theories. I'm glad that I'm not his judge on the Other Side.
Carol Hall Bartholomew (widow of Wynn E. Bartholomew)
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